


Beware the Bears

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-03
Updated: 2015-09-03
Packaged: 2018-04-18 19:24:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4717631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bertolt is crushing on Annie, who is slowly letting him win her over. Reiner is worried that he’ll lose his oblivious best friend to some heartless girl. Connie idolizes Reiner. Sasha watches as friendships and relationships change and grow when the five of them spend one horrible weekend in the wilderness.</p><p>Basically, I just wanted to write a fic that didn’t include our favorite golden trio. What happens when the secondary characters aren’t secondary anymore?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beware the Bears

It all started when Connie found me in the library. I was slogging through a mountain of geology homework, trying not to give in to my drooping eyelids or groaning stomach. Connie slammed down his stack of textbooks loud enough to startle a poor blonde boy who had fallen asleep on his calculus textbook a few tables over.

“Reiner invited me camping,” he said, as he slid into the chair next to me. Connie and I have been friends long enough now that I could tell that he was about to burst with excitement. He was vibrating like one of those shake weights you see in infomercials.

“Fun! You’re going, then?” I already knew the answer, of course. Connie couldn’t say no to Reiner if he tried. He has some kind of idol-crush on the older student. 

“Of course! You should come too, Sasha! Reiner said I could bring someone.”

“I’m swamped, Connie.” I glanced meaningfully at the pile of paperwork in front of me.

“Not now,” he amended, “On spring break.”

“Who else is going?” I hate saying no to Connie when he’s this enthusiastic about something. Of course, enthusiasm is a natural state for him, so over the years I’ve been roped into a lot of things that I probably shouldn’t have been involved in. Telling the high school principal that you can’t say no to your idiot best friend and his puppy eyes never goes over well, unfortunately. Besides, even his worst ideas are _fantastic_.

“Reiner, Bertolt, and also this girl Annie Leonhardt that Bertl invited.” Connie recited, ticking off the names on his fingers. 

“Annie Leonhardt? I had a class with her!” She was the star student in the chemistry class I took last fall. Everyone in that class was simultaneously in awe of her and scared shitless by her. She wasn’t exactly approachable. Having her along meant it wouldn’t be a total sausage fest though… Connie is usually fine to hang out with on his own, but add Reiner and Bertl to the mix and I start to feel like the token female friend. I grinned, giving in. “Alright, I’ll go.”

“Yes!” Connie pumped a fist in the air. “This is gonna be so great!”

A few weeks later, we met up at Reiner and Bertolt’s apartment before setting off for our camping trip. Annie was already there, leaning casually against the rock wall that bordered the driveway. She looked bored, but her eyes were alert as she watched us arrive. Connie pulled his rusted white sedan into an open spot next to Bertl’s truck. Apparently, the huge red truck was named Colossal. Connie told me once that Bertl claimed it was named after the Marvel superhero, but Reiner told him it might actually be because of a manga that Bertl really likes. Whatever. Bertl’s a nerd either way, and we love him for it. I gathered my things and hopped out of the car. 

A large pile of gear and food surrounded the back of the truck, and the two boys were loading it into the truck bed. They both cheered and waved as we got there, and Reiner even jumped to the ground to smother me in a bone-crushing hug. 

“Potato Girl, where’ve you been?” he said, releasing me from the hug and holding me at arm’s length.

“Reiner! Potato Girl stopped being funny a long time ago,” I whined. He just laughed and I gave him a good natured shove, grinning too broadly to pretend I was seriously angry. Being mad at Reiner was incredibly difficult, actually. He was a teddy bear, even though he was probably capable of snapping me in half. The guy is built like an ox. 

Bertolt smiled and waved at me, and Reiner went to give Connie a bro-y black slap. Connie looked like he was going to faint from admiration. Annie was still standing off on the sidelines, so I hesitantly decided to approach her. She was wearing a practical grey sweatshirt and jeans, blonde hair tied back into a bun. A few loose strands hung around her face, and she watched me through them as I approached.

“Heeey, Annie? I’m Sasha!” I gave her my best beaming, friendly smile. “We had Chem 124 together last year!” 

She just looked me up and down with expressionless eyes, as if she was sizing me up. I suddenly felt self-conscious of the long skirt I was wearing. What if she thought I was some idiot city girl and didn’t talk to me for the rest of the trip? She seemed to come quickly to some kind of conclusion.

“Yes,” she said in acknowledgement. Without another word, she pushed her petite body away from the wall and began to help Bertl load things into the back of the truck. I left out a breath of relief that I didn’t know I was holding. I had a feeling that that was as close to approval as I was going to get from Annie Leonhardt.

We decided to take both vehicles – Reiner would drive Bertl’s truck with the equipment, since he knew the location, and the rest of us would follow in Connie’s little sedan. The truck was loaded up in no time with all of our bags and other camping supplies, and soon it was time to get on the road. We were headed a few hours away, to a small secluded campground on the banks of a river. I’d been there years before with my father, though my memory of it was faint. 

“Dauper campground, eh?” he said, when I told him where we were going. “Take lots of bug spray and beware the bears!” It was the same advice he always gave me, no matter where I went. Sometimes he even said it jokingly about going to the grocery store. I’m pretty sure he’s forgotten the specifics of the many places we’ve camped over the years, and just likes to cover his bases. 

“Bertl, you’ll ride with me, yeah?” Reiner said, as we finished packing up. It was phrased as a question but it sounded _off_ to me, almost like a command. I watched curiously as Bertolt’s gaze slid immediately to Annie, who just rolled her eyes in response. Bertl slumped a little, but nodded, and climbed into the cab with Reiner. 

Annie seemed unbothered by the proceedings, though as I thought about it, I realized Bertl had consistently stuck by her side that morning. Connie got back in his car and I took shotgun, glancing back at Annie as soon as we were on the road. 

“Annie, how long have you and Bertl been dating?” I asked. Connie’s eyes went wide and he glanced quickly at me and then Annie in his rear mirror. 

She just gazed blankly back at me. “We’re not.”

“But,” I frowned. That look that he gave her, I could have sworn… “Are you sure?” I asked, peering suspiciously back at her. 

“Sasha!” Connie reprimanded me nervously, his knuckles white against the black leather of his steering wheel. He looked frightened for my life. Come to think of it, I should be too. Annie was probably a black belt in some form of self-defense. I’m pretty sure I heard she broke someone’s finger once. Shit. Okay, act calm. 

“Sorry, Annie,” I said meekly, dropping my eyes from her impassive face. She huffed, and I swear she sounded almost amused. No way was I going to test that though. I smiled nervously at Connie and plugged my phone up to his car audio, playing soothing music for the rest of the drive. 

Connie, Annie and I got to the campground just after 2:00. Reiner and Bertl arrived first and were already attempting to set up a large green tent. They were having some serious difficulty with it. The tent was partially up, but it was leaning at an angle– something had obviously been put together wrong. Reiner kept pacing around and adjusting the different hooks and poles, while Bertl stood to one side, looking sweaty and bewildered. Reiner looked up as we arrived and through Connie’s open window I could hear him say, “Oh, finally. Sasha will know how to fix this.”

The campsite that we were at was downright gorgeous. We had a relatively secluded one in the back corner of the loop. There was a small rocky path down to the river, which rushed past us in a constant state of joy. A few other campers were playing in the water, and their laughter echoed through the towering trees that surrounded the sites. A fire pit occupied the middle of our site with a picnic table positioned nearby. Connie pulled his car into an open spot to the side of Bertl’s truck. 

As soon as Connie shut off the ignition and before I even unbuckled my seatbelt, Annie hopped out of the car and went to help them with the tent. With a few quick adjustments it was standing tall and proud. Bertl, relieved, gave Annie a smile and a soft “Thanks.” He rubbed the back of his neck with embarrassment. Reiner, however, was strangely irritated. 

The five of us unloaded the truck, piling our sleeping bags and personal belongings into the massive tent. I chose the far right side and went ahead and rolled out my sleeping bag so that no one else could claim the spot. I didn’t like sleeping too close to other people, but if I slept on the edge I could at least turn away from them. 

To my surprise, Annie laid out her things next to mine. Thank god; she was probably a calm sleeper. I’ve shared a tent with Connie on a few occasions, and he always manages to smack me in the face with an arm while he sleeps. 

The boys each set out their sleeping bags as well. Bertl moved in next to Annie, Connie ended up on the far left, and Reiner laid his things out between them. I saw him scowl at Annie and Bertl’s bags laid out next to one another. 

Sleeping arrangements taken care of, Bertl looked around at all of us and said, “Explore now, hike tomorrow?” 

We did just that. It had already been a long day, so we didn’t want to wander very far. There was plenty of time for hiking later. We took a walk through the campground, and I stared in awe at the green forest around us. 

I recognized one of the sites next to ours from a time when I came with my father. He taught me how to fish on that trip. I didn’t catch anything, but he let me reel one of his catches in. We released it back into the stream after taking a picture. I smiled at the memory. That photo is framed on my bedroom wall – six year-old me holding a huge trout, grin showing the gap between my teeth where a tooth had recently fallen out. My father, kneeling beside me, held the camera out in front of us to capture the moment. It’s still my favorite photo of the two of us. 

I was walking beside Connie as we strolled around the loop, but when I stopped to examine the site and prod at my memories, he sped up to walk next to Reiner. The path was too wide for four to walk abreast, so Annie dropped behind from where she had been next to Bertolt. He glanced back at her, but Reiner grabbed his sleeve to ask him something, and Annie fell in beside me. 

We walked in comfortable silence for a few moments, watching the trees swaying in a shallow breeze. There were only a few other people around, but I did see another group of three people walking past us- two men and one woman. I swear I heard the shorter of the two men say something about “big-ass trees” to his companions. 

I sniffed at the air. It felt- heavy. Damp. I frowned. “It’s going to rain later.” Annie looked at me and arched one thin eyebrow. “I can smell it,” I explained. 

She just nodded. We continued to follow the rest of the group through the campground and then down to the river. Reiner and Bertl started searching for good skipping rocks, and Reiner boasted that he had once skipped a rock twelve times. Connie took off his shoes and socks and splashed around in the sparkling water, laughing and exclaiming each time he discovered a small fish or water skipper. Annie perched on a rock. I crouched nearby, trailing one hand in the water. I saw Bertl, ankle-deep in the shallow river next to Reiner, glance at the rock where Annie sat. He didn’t approach. 

“I’ve always liked this river.” I said aloud, watching as ripples of water danced away from my hand.

Annie turned to look at me. “You’ve been here before.” It was a simple statement, but I sensed the question in her words. Her hair was loose in its bun. Strands swayed around her neck and face in the light breeze. 

I nodded, finally. “With my father.”

Annie accepted my explanation in silence and we went back to our quiet contemplation of the river in front of us. Before long, Connie complained that he was hungry for dinner, and I immediately realized I was too. We all returned to the campsite, Connie and I skipping farther in front of the rest.

“Hey, Reiner!” I called, looking back at our other friends. “What’s for dinner?”

“Spaghetti.”

“Ooh, Spaghetti!” I said. “That sounds perfect!”

“Know what else sounds good?” Connie countered. “Macaroni and cheese.”

“Duh. Also steak.”

We quickly regressed to shouting favorite foods at each other. It was a thing we did sometimes. 

“Hot chocolate!” Connie said.

“Tacos!” I shouted back. 

“Watermelon!”

“I thought you said watermelon was a useless food?” It was mostly water, after all. He didn’t usually eat celery either.

“Eh,” he said, shrugging. “It sounds good right now.”

“Are you two going to just talk about food the rest of the night, or actually help us cook?” Reiner demanded. He sounded amused, though. 

I rolled my eyes and whined at him, but pulled the Coleman stove out of the truck and began to set it up for cooking. I had done this so many times that it was second nature to me. I checked the level of white gas in the tank, pressurized it, and then attached the tank to the burners, making sure that everything was hooked in correctly. 

“Matches,” I said, and Connie put a pack into my outstretched hand. I struck one and held the tiny flame carefully to the burner as I opened the valve, expecting it to catch into a bright blaze. 

Nothing happened. 

Confused, I shut the valve and checked everything again. I couldn’t find anything out of place, but when I opened the valve again and listened, I couldn’t even hear the hiss of gas escaping. I sat back and just looked at the stove, trying to decide what I was doing wrong. 

“Sasha?” That was Bertl, looking very concerned. Connie was hovering near me as well. 

“I can’t get it to light. I don’t understand.” 

“What!” Connie exclaimed. “But what about dinner?”

“We could cook over a fire?” I suggested hopefully. I prefer the controlled environment of the stove – I’m really no good with campfires – but desperate times call for desperate cooking methods. Or something like that.

Reiner started the campfire. It took a lot of cursing and at least twenty matches, but he eventually got it going. Annie, Bertl, Connie and I watched in silence as Reiner tended to it, ready with a pot full of water to start boiling for pasta. Connie and I cheered a little when we finally set the pot on the flame. 

“Ugh, I’m getting bitten,” Connie muttered a few minutes later while we waited for water to boil. He smacked a mosquito away from his arm. 

“Aww, they like you!” I said. I regretted it soon after, when I found three mosquitos on me in quick succession. 

Half an hour later, dinner was ready. The noodles were overcooked, and the pasta sauce was still mostly cold when we spooned it onto our plates. All five of us ate in silence, huddled around the small flame.

Annie was the only one who didn’t look utterly miserable, and I suspected that she would have eaten in silence no matter the quality of the meal, or number of mosquitos. She ate methodically, putting forkfuls of mushy pasta into her mouth at evenly spaced intervals. The rest of us pushed the food around and didn’t eat much. 

That night we went to bed early, still affected by our disappointing dinner. We all absentmindedly scratched at our bug bites. Reiner and Connie went to bed first, and I brushed my teeth in the small campground bathroom. It didn’t have a real mirror- just a shiny piece of scratched metal bolted to the wall. It wasn’t very helpful.

When I got back to the campsite, Bertolt and Annie were still sitting by the fire. The sun had set almost completely and the last coals shined a flickering red light on their faces. Bertl was talking quietly, and Annie used a long stick to poke at the dying fire. Anyone who didn’t know them would think that she was ignoring the tall, slightly flustered man who sat beside her, but I could see that her head was turned just slightly so that she could hear Bertl better. I ducked into our tent with a huge grin on my face. 

“Where’s Bertl?” Reiner demanded when he saw me step in alone. Connie had clearly been talking about something, because he shut his mouth with an irritated snap and glared at me. Well it wasn’t like I could help it if Connie’s idol wanted to ask me a question. Right, Reiner was still waiting for an answer. 

“He and Annie are sitting by the fire,” I said. His face deepened into a scowl. “Reiner,” I asked, “Is something wrong?”

He turned away from me, lying down on his sleeping bag with a huff. “No. It’s fine.” 

I pressed the issue, perhaps unwisely. “Don’t lie to me, Reiner, you’re obviously upset. It has something to do with Bertolt and Annie doesn’t it?” Connie was looking back and forth between me and him with a furrow between his brows. 

“Leave it alone, Sasha,” Reiner growled. 

“Do you have a crush on her too?” That had to be it. Every interaction between Bertl and Annie seemed to make him even more depressed and angry. He just scoffed. I gave up on my interrogation for the night and settled into my bed. I resolved silently to myself to pay even closer attention from then on, but fell asleep long before Bertl and Annie came in for the night.

The next morning, we woke to the pitter-patter of gentle rain. They were light drops at first – more of a mist. But quickly it turned into a drizzle, and finally a shower. I peeled open my eyes and saw the arching ceiling of the tent weeping raindrops in trails down its sides. Grey light filtered in from the eastern side of the campsite. We all emerged from the tent reluctantly, huddling in our sweatshirts and rain jackets like little ducklings all in a row.

Annie started the fire, and I was amazed by how skillfully she did it. My father can start a fire in a hurricane without any matches if he wanted to, but I didn’t inherit that from him. I usually either burn myself or accidentally put the fire out. It’s a different kind of skill, I suppose. Annie though, she started this one like she builds campfires every day. She gathered dry wood from underneath the trees, arranged it in a loose triangle shape, and then lit it up with one no-nonsense strike of a match. I was thoroughly impressed.

I wasn’t the only one who noticed her casual badassery. Bertl, who was standing next to Reiner at the picnic table and chopping peppers for our breakfast scramble, stopped moving and just _stared_. Reiner, busy cracking eggs, finally noticed that his friend wasn’t paying attention anymore. He followed Bertl’s gaze to where Annie crouched by the fire pit. Unaware of the scene unfolding in front of me, she calmly fed the fire a little bit at a time until it reached a steady blaze. I swear Reiner’s face went from unconcerned duckling to doom and thunderclouds in .01 seconds flat. 

Seriously, what was even going on with him? I had to help out my fellow girl though, so I called impatiently to Reiner, “Are you done with the eggs?” He snapped his attention back to the food, and I noticed him consciously school his expression to a more neutral one. He handed me a bowl of cracked eggs and I passed them along to Annie so that she could pour them into the pan to cook. If he gave me a dark glare, I pretended not to notice it.

“This rain sucks,” Connie whined, from where he sat watching the fire. “I wanted to go hiking today!” He had his raincoat zipped all the way up to his throat, and his hood pulled low over his eyebrows.

“We can still go hiking,” Bertl said, his cheerful voice like a ray of sun through the deluge. Connie looked skeptical, but Annie nodded. 

“The forest is different in the rain,” she commented, and I had to agree. Even at the campsite, it changed everything. The world smelled softer when it rained. Connie was clearly unimpressed by her statement, but he gained his eagerness back when we left for the trail after breakfast. 

“Come on, you slowpokes! It’s beautiful up here!” Connie stood farther up the path from the rest of us. He was by far the fastest hiker. Annie wasn’t far behind him. No one would guess it, looking at her slim frame, but she had an immense reservoir of stamina. Even on the steepest hills her breathing was slow and steady as if she had just rolled out of bed. Bertolt and I followed right behind her, with a little more difficulty, and Reiner took up the rear. 

We were hiking Little Titan, a small mountain by our campsite with a 7 mile round trip trail. It was still raining, though the trees acted as a patchy umbrella. We weren’t getting drenched, but the air we breathed was heavy and damp. Annie and Connie had both opted to take off their rain jackets and just deal with the moisture in their sweatshirts. 

Connie was waiting for us at the top of a switchback, where a clearing in the trees gave a wide view of the land. I gasped in awe when I finally saw it. Hill after hill of trees stretched into the distance, and foggy grey clouds hung low over the canopy of leaves. The rain around our campsite was beginning to clear away. I could see a patch of blue sky, and sunlight shone through onto the landscape, giving everything a glittering aura. It was breathtaking. 

“0.6 miles to the top,” Bertl said, reading a signpost at the corner of the switchback. “That shouldn’t take us long.” 

We took a few pictures of the view and kept hiking. As we climbed the last steep slope to the summit, we came across a tree that had fallen across the path. We’d encountered a few other trees like this one; all long, tall pine trees that had come up by the roots. The previous trees had all been high enough over the path that we could duck easily beneath them, or so small that we could jump over them without pause. This one, though, was low enough to the ground that even a squirrel would have difficulty squeezing beneath it, and big enough that nonchalantly hopping over was impossible.

“Yeesh,” Connie said, stopping where the path disappeared beneath it. “This must be a new one.”

I had to agree with Connie. There were some branches still poking out from the trunk, and as I bent one it didn’t break. The wood was still green and flexible, meaning it must have fallen recently. That must be why it hadn’t been cleared by a ranger yet.

“Well it’s not going to be easy to get around,” Reiner said. 

I nodded. “We can just climb it. The branches are good footholds at least.” 

Connie went first, scrambling over the top without too much trouble. When he got to the other side, I could just barely see the crown of his head over the log. Annie went next. She let Bertolt give her a hand up, which she definitely didn’t need. Reiner looked away, and Bertl hopped over after her. I followed while Reiner was still staring back down the mountain. 

I should have been fine. I used to climb trees all the time. When I was a kid, my father couldn’t keep me out of them. As soon as school was out and I was home again, into the trees I went. I used to spend hours in the maple tree behind my house, sitting in the fork between the trunk and the second branch. 

The difference, of course, was that this tree was horizontal, and wet, and slippery with moss. I was halfway up, moving to a new branch, when I missed the new foothold entirely and my foot slid away underneath me. For a moment I felt suspended in time and space, unable to register what was happening because I _never_ fall. But here I was, falling. I tried to land on my feet, but as I fell my body twisted, and I cried out in pain as my right foot hit the ground at an angle, foot rolling inward. 

“Sasha!” That was Connie, calling at me from the other side of the tree. “Sasha? Are you okay? What happened?” I heard Bertl’s low voice, probably telling Connie that I fell. He was the only one tall enough to have seen anything from the other side of the log. Reiner was at my side only a second later, finally pulled out of his thoughts by my agonized cry. He helped me sit up as I clutched at my ankle. 

“Shit that hurts!” Tears were streaming down my face, but I didn’t bother to wipe them away. 

Reiner was kneeling beside me, one arm looped carefully around by back. “Can you stand?” I shook my head. Behind me, I heard the scrabbling sound of someone climbing back over the tree. A moment later Connie was beside me, clutching at my hand. 

“Can she walk?” That was Connie, talking to Reiner. I had my eyes squeezed shut now, so I just listened as they talked over me.

“No. How are we going to get her back down if she can’t walk?”

“Maybe she could hop on one foot?” 

“You’re kidding, right? She’ll just fall again.”

“Shit.”

There was a short silence as the two of them thought it through. Then Reiner spoke again, uncertainly. “Maybe I could carry her?” 

“You think?” Connie sounded hopeful.

“Pretty sure. I could take breaks.”

My eyes finally seemed to be done leaking tears, so I opened them to look at the two boys. Reiner saw them open and glanced down at me. “I’m going to carry you back since you can’t walk. Does that sound okay?”

I nodded. 

“I’m coming too,” Connie said. “Annie and Bertl might as well keep going though.”

Reiner seemed about to nod when he stopped himself and said, “No…Connie why don’t you go too. Sasha and I should be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Connie sounded almost disappointed. He looked at me for confirmation. 

I looked up at Reiner and then thoughtfully up the mountain. If Connie came with us, then Annie and Bertl would be left alone. I didn’t think that was such a bad thing, but Reiner did, and if Connie was around it would be more difficult to grill Reiner about it. “It’s okay Connie, why don’t you go with them,” I finally said, studying Reiner’s face again. “We’ll be alright.”

“I – if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. See you at the bottom!”

Connie scrambled back over the tree again, giving me one last glance as he descended the other side. I heard him explain the situation to Annie and Bertl, and they yelled a goodbye to us before heading up the mountain again. Reiner scooped me up bridal style. My arms went around his neck and my head eventually dropped to lean on his chest. 

We walked in silence for a long time until I finally spoke. “You sent Connie after them so they wouldn’t be alone.”

He took a while to respond, but finally inclined his head in a nod and said, “Yeah.”

I had asked him before if he was interested in Annie, but…that didn’t seem right. I thought back on the few years that I had known Reiner. Maybe… “Are you in love with Bertolt?”

Reiner stiffened for a moment, let out a sputtering laugh and then a sigh. “No,” he said, and he sounded sincere. “But, ah…” I could feel him thinking, gauging my reaction. “I am gay.” He paused for a moment, avoiding my gaze. “Bertolt doesn’t know yet,” he finally admitted.

“Why not?” 

Reiner was silent for a long time as he carried me. The rain had finally eased off, and the forest around us was quiet in the aftermath of the rainstorm, except for the soft drip of water from the trees. I had almost given up on a response when he finally spoke again, softly. “It’s not that I think he would disapprove or anything…I just don’t want him to be second guessing my intentions every time I invite him over, or give him a hug, or compliment him. It’s easier this way.” He said. 

I looked away from the scenery around us to stare up at Reiner. From the angle where I hung in his arms I could see only the left side of his face. He was frowning, in the mild, accepting kind of way a person frowns when they decide to hide a part of themselves. 

“You need to tell him.” I said. His frown deepened, but he didn’t say anything in response. “Reiner! Put me down.” I tugged forcefully with my arms, which were still wrapped around his neck. He grumbled a bit but finally put me down on a fallen log by the edge of the path. The damp earth let off a musty smell, and the cool wind that moved beneath the trees made it seem as if the forest was breathing. 

I took in a deep lungful of air and let it out with a sigh as I settled into the seat and wiggled my ankle. Jagged pain traveled up through my calf. I winced. It would be fine after a few days and lots of rest, I guessed, but walking was out of the question for now.

Reiner was already lost in contemplation, staring back up the mountain. “Reiner.” He turned to look at me. “If you aren’t jealous, what’s the problem?”

“I am jealous,” He admitted, “just not in the way you’re thinking.” He took a seat beside me, looking down at his feet as continued to speak. “He and Annie…” he started, then shook his head. “I don’t want him to forget about me.” 

I scoffed. “He’s not going to forget about you.” I leaned over to give him a reassuring nudge with my shoulder. He was hunched over, as if all of his worries were pressing him down into the ground. I wasn’t sure what to say. Connie was my best friend, and we were decidedly platonic (a few experimental forays into the world of kissing, back in middle school, had convinced us that we were best as friends), but neither of us had been very active at dating. I’d never felt what Reiner was feeling now.

“I think maybe…” I hesitated, trying to find the words. “Maybe you should just talk to him.” Reiner grimaced. “About all of it,” I added firmly. 

“I’ll think about it,” he said, but I knew he wouldn’t.

“Reiner, do you want to lie to Bertl for the rest of your life?” My voice was stern. 

He turned away from me, hiding his face. “I’m not lying to him… not exactly.” 

“Well you aren’t telling the truth either!” He didn’t say anything. He was still staring out into the forest. “Reiner!”

“Let’s just go.”

He carried me the rest of the way back to the campsite in silence. 

Thankfully, there were some zip-lock bags in the tub of supplies that we had brought for the trip. Reiner scooped some ice from the coolers into a bag and wrapped it all in one of my t-shirts, per my instructions. I settled onto my sleeping bag with my foot perched on a pillow, and the little package of ice was applied to it. I could tell my ankle was going to have some incredible bruising soon. 

As he turned to go I grabbed his sleeve, blurting out a few final words of wisdom. “Bertolt cares about you. If you tell him what’s bothering you, he’ll listen.” 

“Sasha,” was all he said, in a low growl. I let go of his sleeve and fell back onto my sleeping bag with a huff. He went back outside and for a long time I watched through the tent’s screen window as he sat contemplatively in front of the fire pit, staring down at the cold coals from the morning’s fire. 

The sound of Connie’s raucous laughter woke me from a light doze a couple hours later, and it wasn’t long before he was pushing through the tent door to check on me.

“Sasha! I missed you!” He shucked off his shoes and crawled over to where I lay.

“Jeez, Connie, go bother Reiner instead, I’m fine!” He didn’t though, just curled up beside me, careful not to move my ankle. I pushed playfully at his face, but he just swatted my hand away. 

He leaned in and I felt his breath tickle my ear as he spoke. “I think you were right about Bertl and Annie dating,” Connie whispered. “They barely talked to me after you and Reiner left.”

“I’m always right Connie, it’s time you realized.” He scoffed and flopped back. We lay in silence for a while, just relaxing in each other’s company. It was good to have him around. 

Not too long later, Connie left me and returned to his sleeping bag, and the other three joined us in the tent to relax before dinner. Bertl napped and Annie read a book in another language. It looked like Russian. Reiner stared at the ceiling of the tent. I saw him look contemplatively at Bertl a few times and hoped that he was thinking through my advice. 

Sometime later, Reiner sat up, shook Bertl awake, and looked at the four of us. He seemed to be in a better mood again. “Who’s hungry?” he asked. Connie and I grinned at each other from across the tent. 

“Oh thank God! Finally,” I said, clutching my stomach in mock agony as I rolled onto my side. Both Reiner and Bertl chuckled at my display, and I think even the corners of Annie’s lips twitched up as she watched me. 

“What are we having?” Connie asked eagerly, and yes that is a brilliant question. 

“Chili potatoes just for you, Sasha,” Bertl said with a grin, as he sat up. 

I groaned. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”

The three boys laughed. Annie watched them quietly from beside me. She didn’t look confused, just…expectant. I realized she didn’t know the story. Bertl must have noticed as well because he began to explain before I could. 

“Freshman year the four of us had English 101 with Professor Shadis. He’s the one they call the Drill Instructor, because he’s so strict, you know?” Annie nodded in recognition. Everyone who took his class had horror stories about it, so I wasn’t surprised that she knew of him. “One day he was yelling at us about our midterm papers, and Sasha, she…” he trails off, chuckling, and Connie picks up the story.  
“Sasha pulls out a _baked potato_ and starts eating it! In the front row, too!”

“I was hungry!”

“And then -”

“-he just looks at her, and says-”

“He says; _what the fuck are you doing_?” Connie exclaimed, imitating Shadis’ deep voice. 

I flopped back onto my bed and moaned in fond irritation. They’d started calling me Potato Girl ever since that day. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t be friends with Reiner and Bertolt if not for the potato incident and their teasing. It was a blessing in disguise. 

The three of them kept cackling about the potato story, and even Annie looked relaxed. She watched Bertl with something I could almost describe as affection, though I don’t think he noticed. He was too busy laughing and clutching his sides. 

We emerged from the tent in high spirits. Bertl let me lean on him as I walked to the fire pit, and Connie and Reiner grabbed a large cooler full of food from the back of the truck. My mouth watered just thinking about how delicious dinner would be. 

Annie started another fire and Bertl and Reiner wrapped our potatoes in packets of foil so that they could be put in the coals. While they cooked, Connie regaled us with stories about the electronics store that he works part time at. I think he was trying to impress Reiner; Connie kept glancing at him after the punchline of every story. I would usually just roll my eyes at him, but it had already started to get dark. I settled for a gentle kick with my good foot but I don’t think he got the point – he just kicked me back. 

Finally, Reiner judged that we were ready to heat up the chili, so he got up to grab the cans from our bags of food. I was using a branch to scratch doodles into the dirt around the fire pit when I heard his voice from behind me, suddenly full of worry. “Oh, fuck.” He said. “We forgot a can opener.” 

Annie looked unconcerned, but it’s possible that she didn’t even hear him- she was pushing one of the larger logs around so that more coals would be available for our potatoes. Connie and Bertl were in a subdued state of panic though- neither one of them wanted to admit how worried they were. Reiner also looked like he was trying really hard not to freak out. He was holding two cans of chili and staring at them like they might miraculously open themselves. 

“Hey.” I said, and each of them looked hopefully at me. “Can’t you rub the top against a rock to open them?”

“Oh, yeah!” Connie said. “I’ve seen people do that! Here, let me try!” Reiner handed one of the cans over to him and set the other down on the picnic table. Connie went in search of a rock. I stayed at my spot by the fire, but watched as Connie, Reiner, and Bertolt clustered around a boulder by the edge of a river. Connie turned the can upside down and began to rub it against the rough stone. 

“They’re going to spill it,” Annie predicted dryly, and only moments later I heard a cry of despair come from Connie as he lifted the can up and the entire contents of the can dumped out onto the boulder. I had to laugh. It wasn’t a happy sound.

Annie let out an exasperated “tch” and got up from her position by the fire. I watched curiously as she produced a pocketknife from her jeans and pulled the second can toward her on the picnic table. She opened up the knife and began to pierce the top of the can in small intervals, giving the back end of the knife a gentle _whack_ each time. She had punctured small holes around the entire can and was beginning to pry off the top when the boys returned, Connie mournfully carrying the empty chili can. 

“Annie?” Bertl said, as they approached. “Did you just–”

“Here.” She interrupted, shoving the open can toward him. He took it and I swear there was a crackle of electricity in the air as their hands brushed. Annie retreated to her spot by the fire, and I grinned as I noticed the blush high on her cheeks. Bertl, too, had a dopey smile on his face. After cautiously extricating the can from Bertl’s grasp, Reiner poured its contents into a saucepan. He seemed…resigned. 

He glanced warily in Annie’s direction as he crouched next to the fire with the saucepan of chili, but she ignored him in favor of rotating one of the potatoes. I watched from my seat on across the fire pit as they settled into an uneasy companionship. 

Bertl and Connie started setting up the table with plates and other toppings. Not too long later, we were settled around the table, fire blazing away in the pit behind us as we opened up our potatoes. There wasn’t nearly enough chili for the five of us, but we made do, and the extra toppings helped. Cheese, sour cream, hot sauce… I was blissfully happy. We were all digging in to our meals when things got suddenly and considerably worse. 

Connie saw it first. I felt him stiffen beside me and slowly rise up out of the bench. “Guys…” His voice was doing something I’d never heard from him before. Wavering, weak, higher than usual – he sounded terrified. As soon as I looked up, I understood why.

Lumbering around the rock where the can of chili had been spilled was a bear. A bear a bear a BEAR oh God. It was massive. There was a steady panicked whimpering coming from somewhere – was that me? Oh, yeah. That was me. 

“Holy fuck” Reiner said, and I couldn’t agree more. Even Annie looked scared. Her grey eyes were wider than I’d ever seen them. I scrambled my way up and off the bench of the picnic table, adrenaline making my ankle seem better than it actually was. My legs were wobbly and unsteady as I stood and began to back away toward the cars. 

The bear looked up and began to sniff the air in our direction as it noticed the movement. It took a hesitant step toward us and I swear my heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest with the amount of panic that was raging through my body.

“Cars. Go go go,” Reiner was wildly waving his hands to get us to move, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to argue. Even delicious chili potatoes weren’t worth getting mauled by a bear. I backed up as quickly as I could without tripping and falling on my ass. Nobody wanted a repeat of this morning, especially if a bear was in the mix. Connie and Reiner were following right after me. 

Annie though, who had been sitting at the end of the wooden table closest to the river, was frozen in place. She hadn’t even gotten out of her seat, and was just staring in total shock at the mountain of brown fur that was headed in her direction. Her hands gripped the edge of the table so fiercely that her knuckles were turning white. 

Bertl, who had been sitting next to her, gave the bear a frantic look and then swiftly pulled her up by her armpits. I think he would have thrown her over his shoulder as well, but she suddenly came to her senses and began to push him toward the car. He grabbed one of her hands and pulled her along with him, and for a moment I think that action shocked her more than the fact that a bear was slowly plodding in their direction. I saw her stare down at their linked hands and then up at Bertl. It looked like it shocked him too, to be honest. 

The five of us all crammed hastily into Connie’s car and waited in panicked silence as the bear approached our picnic table. It didn’t seem interested in following us, thankfully. The bear was certainly interested in our food though. It snuffled around the table, eating a couple potatoes and licking the chili off of the rest, pushing them around with its paws to get the best angle. 

“While I’m pretty sure we’re going to die,” Connie said nervously from the driver’s seat, as he watched the bear with wide eyes, “I just want you all to know that I love you. And Sasha, you didn’t lose that chocolate in 7th grade. I ate it.” 

I reached up to put a hand on his shoulder. “I stole your favorite green sweater two years ago.” 

“So that’s where it went,” he said, voice still shaking. I felt one of his hands move to squeeze mine and we left them like that, even though Connie squeezed tighter with every move the bear made. 

A _thump_ caught our attention as the bear managed to open our cooler by tipping it on its side. It dug through all of the food we had brought for the trip, eating whatever appealed to it and pushing aside the rest. I moaned as a package of bacon disappeared between its sharp teeth. 

Bertl, sweating nervously in the back seat now that there was no immediate cause for him to be brave, asked quietly, “What if it attacks the car?”

“We can honk at it,” Annie said, “and drive away, if we have the keys.”

We all turned to look at Connie. He stared back with wild eyes, glancing quickly from face to face. “Uh, keys?” he squeaked, and then turned to look outside, where his rain jacket was draped over the rails of the truck bed. His lanyard was very clearly hanging out of the nearest pocket. “Shit.”

“You dumbass!” I cried, smacking Connie on the side of the head, “Why didn’t you grab them!?” 

“ _Sor-ry_ for being a little preoccupied!”

“You walked right past them! It’s not that hard!”

“Well I was looking at the _bear_ in our campsite!”

“Sasha, let him go. _Sasha_!” Bertl’s voice finally cut through, and I realized I was holding Connie’s shirt in a death grip. I let him go, falling back into the seat. 

“Could’ve been gone by now,” I muttered finally. The five of us at in silence for a few moments as the bear continued to sniff at our belongings. Bertl and Annie, sitting beside me in the back seat, gave each other a look I couldn’t decipher. Reiner was glaring at the keychain as if he could magically teleport it inside the vehicle. Connie looked miserable. I felt terrible; he didn’t deserve all the blame. I probably would have forgotten them too. 

“Hey, Springy?” I finally said, using one of my nicknames for Connie, “I’m sorry.” I reached my hand back over his shoulder and eventually he took it, giving it one strong squeeze before just holding my hand loosely in front of him. 

“Me too,” he said. “I should’ve grabbed them.” He hung his head and asked tentatively, “What’re we going to do now?”

Reiner reached for the door handle. “Cover me with the car horn,” he ordered, and before any of us could protest, he was outside. I heard Bertl gasp in shock. He moved as if to follow Reiner but Annie grabbed his wrist and gave him the darkest glare I had ever seen. Outside, the bear shuffled as it noticed movement in our direction – Reiner was slowly advancing around the back end of Connie’s car. 

Bertl’s truck, Colossus, was parked just behind us and at a bit of an angle, so that the truck bed faced the fire pit. Thankfully the bear was on the far side of the picnic table, but Reiner would still have to approach Connie’s jacket on the truck’s vulnerable side. We held our breath, watching every move the bear made. 

Reiner hesitated at the back of Connie’s car. The bear had lost interest in him and was eating another potato, but when Reiner finally darted from one car to the other, it looked up again. 

“The horn, Connie!” Bertl cried. He threw himself through the gap between the front seats and laid a palm firmly on the car horn before Connie could react. The blaring sound of the horn echoed through the campsite. The bear startled and took a step back. Reiner moved swiftly to grab Connie’s jacket and then backed toward the sedan.

Finally, with another honk of the horn from Bertl, the bear raised his head to sniff at the air. With a bit of a _huff_ as it let the breath out through its mouth, it began to amble back toward the river. Reiner sprinted back to the car, tossing the jacket and keys in before him. Our heavy breathing and racing heartbeats began to settle down. Connie sighed and relaxed measurably. Bertl slumped back into his seat and Annie put a comforting hand on his back. Reiner let his head fall against the headrest in relief, hand coming up to cover his eyes. “Let’s go out for dinner,” he said. No one protested. Connie turned the ignition and we left the campsite without another word. 

It wasn’t until we were turning on to the highway a few minutes later that laughter began to bubble up out of my chest. The whole thing was actually pretty funny, now that we had some mental and physical distance from the incident. “Beware the bears!” I choked out between giggles. 

Reiner turned around in his seat to look at me. “What?” 

“My dad told me to ‘Beware the bears,’ before we left!” 

“You knew?” Bertl asked, a little angry. 

I laughed again. “I thought he was joking!” Bertl just pinched his nose and sighed in exasperation.

We ended up at a small diner located on the edge of the nearest town. The paint was peeling from a sign out front that read ROSE’S in large red letters. Inside, wooden booths lined one wall, and a bar with rotating stools faced into the kitchen. It was like stepping back in time. 

We slid into a booth near the door, Reiner and Connie together on one side, Annie, Bertl and I on the other. A waitress took our order and we waited eagerly for our food. 

“You know, that bear was kind of cute,” I said, now that my heart rate was back to normal. “We should give him a name!” 

Connie looked at me from across the table with pure horror in his face. He still looked traumatized, so maybe he hadn’t yet realized what a great story this would be later. Reiner, to my surprise, agreed wholeheartedly. He laughed, finally. It was a little shaky but still genuine. “Winnie,” he said.

Connie shook his head violently. “We can’t name him Winnie!”

“How about Potato? That’s what he was eating.”

“He didn’t come for the potatoes, he came for the Chili.” It was Annie, speaking up softly from beside me. I noticed that she and Bertl were discreetly holding hands. 

“Chili Bear.” I said, rolling it around in my mouth with a smile. “I like it.” Soon all of us were grinning at each other – even Annie was smiling. 

“Hey, ah, thanks for your work with the horn, Connie,” Reiner said. “I thought I might die for a bit there.”

Connie shook his head. “Wasn’t me.” 

“What?”

“It was him,” Connie said, waving across the table at Bertl, who ducked his head in embarrassment. “He just jumped over me before I realized what was happening, like some kind of superhero!” 

“Really?” 

“I was worried about you,” Bertl said. Reiner was staring across the table at his best friend as if he was seeing him for the first time. I could understand why. Bertl was frequently anxious and sweaty; he didn’t exactly exude a sense of self-confidence. But my father used to say that even the most frightened of us have a well of courage in us; we just have to learn how to draw from it. 

Our food arrived just as my stomach was beginning to rumble, and nobody spoke for a long time as we all dug into our meals. Connie was chewing slowly with his eyes closed. Next to me, Annie was digging in to her salad with deliberate intensity. Bertl looked at risk of exploding from happiness. The only one who didn’t eat immediately was Reiner. I saw him glance around the table at each of us, his gaze lingering perhaps a little longer on Bertolt. 

“I’m gay.” Reiner said abruptly. We all looked up at him in shock, chewing coming to a stop. He gave me a small smile and I nodded back in encouragement, grin tugging at my lips. His voice was steady as he continued, though he avoided eye contact by staring down at his food. “I never told anyone before this weekend. I was scared to,” he said, twirling his fork between his fingers, “but after today there’s no reason to be.” 

“Damn right,” I said. Connie and Annie both nodded. 

“You know we support you Reiner,” Bertl said softly from the end of the booth. “I’m glad you finally decided to come out to us.”

Startled, Reiner looked back up at his best friend. “Finally?” He asked, “You knew?”

Bertl shrugged. “Always have.”

“Shit,” Reiner said, leaning back into the booth with all tension erased from his shoulders, “You should have told me years ago. Would’ve saved me a lot of confusion.” 

Bertl snorted. “If you had spent as much of your time thinking as you spent staring at Marcel’s ass in high school you would have figured it out a lot sooner.”

Reiner’s blush traveled from his cheeks all the way down the back of his neck. “It was a nice ass,” I heard him mutter.

We ate the rest of our meal in companionable silence, worn out from the excitement of the last two days to do much else. My ankle was still throbbing gently, so I set it up on the bench across from me with a groan. 

“Hey, guys?” I said, “This was the worst camping trip _ever_.”

Connie looked up at me with a handful of fries still sticking out of his mouth. “Seriously.” 

“Well no kidding, there was a _bear_ -” 

“The can opener got left behind.” 

“-and then Connie dumped out all that chili-“ 

“Hey!” 

“Well it’s _true_!” 

“Don’t forget the stove not working.” 

“Oh, don’t even remind me. That first fire was impossible to start!” 

“And then Sasha went and twisted her foot-“ 

“That tree was slippery!” 

“We couldn’t set up the tent until Annie helped.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

“And of course it had to rain, too!” 

The table slowly fell silent. “So, ah.” Reiner scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully. “Should we stay the last day?”

“Oh hell no.” I said, shaking my head violently. 

Reiner grinned in relief. “Let’s go home, then.”

“It hasn’t been so bad…” 

“Shut up, Connie.” 

We packed up everything at the campsite without bothering to organize it, too excited to get away from bears and bugs and gloomy weather to care much about anything. It was getting dark, sun barely dipping below the tree line, when everything was finished. 

As I tied down the last corner of the tarp that covered the truck bed I heard Bertl and Reiner quietly talking nearby. They were in between the two cars, where Reiner had been stowing his bag in Connie’s car. I paused, holding my breath, as Bertl asked quietly, “Are you riding with me, Reiner?” 

“Nah, why don’t you and Annie ride together?” he said. I could see the smile in his voice even though it was too dark to see his face. “I’ll go with the others.”

Bertl shuffled his feet a little and looked down at Reiner. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

We drove back in the dark. Connie left the music low and I fell asleep on Reiner’s shoulder while watching cars pass us in the other direction. It was one of those nights that life is all about: time seemed to pass too quickly, the night felt darker, and the quiet was heavy but shallow. As my breathing evened out and consciousness slipped away, all of the pain and fear that we endured seemed insignificant. I wouldn’t change any of it for the world.

**Author's Note:**

> Writers need to be fed a healthy diet of love and appreciation. Leave me your thoughts here or on [tumblr](http://elegance-of-a-mountain.tumblr.com/)! <3


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